It's hard to believe that another year has almost come and gone and Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. This is the time of year where I like to reflect and think back at the year that was and to start thinking about next year. It's also the time to think about all the positive things that are in my life and the many blessings I have.

The trouble with dying is that we don't know when we're going to die. In the U.S., a person dies in a car accident every 20 minutes based on 2012 statistics. In 2010, nearly 2.5 million people died from a wide variety of causes including murder, accident, suicide, weather-related, natural causes, etc.

My blog has been on hiatus for a while as my father-in-law passed away recently. He was in a good health and the death was sudden, taking all of us by surprise.

The sad truth is that we're all dying and when we go, the pieces of our life our left to those still living to try and pick up and make sense of, not to mention all of the details that are needed for making final memorial arrangements. The person who died doesn't realize the stress that's left to the surviving friends and family, regardless of if there's a plan already in place.

Today's post is going to look at being as prepared as one can be when it comes to dying, whether you're young or old. Below are four things to consider when planning for your next chapter.

Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson lives an amazing life and is very public in doing so. I was recently dining at a Jimmy John's sandwich shop and they had a variety of sayings on the walls. One that caught my eye was the list of how Richard Branson lives his life. Pretty inspiring stuff. Read on to see how Richard Branson lives his life and how you can take his philosophies and apply them to your own personal and professional life.

I don't know about you, but doing business with a company that provides excellent value and superior customer service, is something I really appreciate and enjoy. One of the simplest things companies can do is to under promise something, but over deliver on that promise.

Can you imagine the delight of the customer when they're expecting one outcome, but get something pleasant entirely outside of their expectations?